Clinton Says Stricter Voter Rules Seek to Swing Election

Former President Bill Clinton
called restrictive voting laws pushed by Republicans in several
swing states a “blatant” attempt to change the outcome of the
presidential election.

While polls show President Barack Obama opening a lead over
Republican Mitt Romney, Clinton said he expects the margin to be
close.

“You have to assume it’s going to be a close race,” the
Democratic former president said in an interview recorded for
CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” program. “But I think the
president has the advantage now.”

There are multiple court battles over voting rules in swing
states including Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Backers of the restrictions, such as requiring a government-
issued identification card with a photo, argue they are needed
to combat voting fraud. Opponents say their true purpose is to
suppress voting by minorities and lower-income people, who tend
to vote Democratic and are less likely to have identification
cards such as driver’s licenses.

Obama polled 50 percent among likely voters in three swing
states in an NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist College poll
released this week, the latest survey that shows him pulling
ahead of Romney in many of the election’s battlegrounds.
Nationally, a Pew Research Center showed Obama leading Romney 51
percent to 43 percent among likely voters.

Clinton, 66, also said that a leaked video of Romney
speaking to donors in which he says 47 percent of Americans
“believe that government has the responsibility to care for
them” will increase the stakes of the presidential debate for
the Republican.

‘Heavier Burden’

“It puts a heavier burden on him in the debates, to talk
about what he meant,” Clinton said. He rejected the idea that
the debate is about “government versus the private sector.”

“If you had a government-centered economy, it would
fail,” he said. “Market economics works better. But it works
better when there are limits on destruction, like requiring
banks to have a certain amount of capital, and it works better
when people are empowered to succeed in it through education
programs and training programs and having a decent health care
system.”

CNN released a transcript of the program, which is
scheduled for broadcast Sept. 23.